Ghost Tree Farts Are a Silent Contributor to Greenhouse Gas Emissions ScienceAlert 1 hr ago
Ghost forests could be an invisible source of greenhouse gas emissions, researchers warn.
As rising seas poison trees along the Atlantic coast of the United States, a new study suggests that these ghost trees are beginning to fart carbon dioxide and methane.
Technically, all trees do a little bit of farting. Live trees are known to release small amounts of methane and other gases into the atmosphere from their trunks, and yet in exchange, they also store a lot of carbon.
Standing dead trees, also called snags, have been killed by saltwater intrusion, which means they no longer have a leaf canopy to photosynthesize and consume carbon dioxide. As such, they can potentially increase the ecosystem s carbon dioxide emissions by up to 25 percent.
Greenhouse gas emissions from standing dead trees in coastal wetland forests colloquially called “tree farts” are a factor in the environmental impact of so-called “ghost forests.”
In the study, researchers compared the quantity and type of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dead tree snags to emissions from the soil. While snags did not release as much as the soils, they did increase GHG emissions of the overall ecosystem by about 25%. Researchers say the findings show snags are important for understanding the total environmental impact of the spread of dead trees in coastal wetlands, known as ghost forests, on GHG emissions.
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A new study from North Carolina State University finds that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from standing dead trees in coastal wetland forests - colloquially called tree farts - need to be accounted for when assessing the environmental impact of so-called ghost forests.
In the study, researchers compared the quantity and type of GHG emissions from dead tree snags to emissions from the soil. While snags did not release as much as the soils, they did increase GHG emissions of the overall ecosystem by about 25 percent. Researchers say the findings show snags are important for understanding the total environmental impact of the spread of dead trees in coastal wetlands, known as ghost forests, on GHG emissions.
On a day filled with blue skies and sunshine, a historical marker honoring the late Gov. Jimmie Davis was unveiled at the entrance of Louisiana College Friday.
Davis, who died at the age of 101 in 2000, served as governor from 1944-1948 and from 1960-1964. He s one of Louisiana College s most notable alums having graduated from the private Baptist college in 1924 with a degree in history. He earned a master s degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and started a career in music and politics. And he penned the song, You Are My Sunshine in 1940 earning a Grammy Award. The thought that Jimmie Davis once walked around here and maybe sat under some of these trees and studied or played his guitar was something that played in my mind as a student here, said District 27 State Rep. Mike Johnson who graduated from LC in 1981.